Sameen stepped of her car and looked around, hiking her bag higher on her shoulder. School had started a week ago and Sameen was already stressed out. Root had moved in with them after she'd gotten out of the hospital, but she'd asked to sleep in the treehouse, instead of with Sameen. Mrs. Reese had let her and they'd put a door on the treehouse and now that was Root's room.

Sameen started heading for the front door of the school. She and Root had hardly talked since their fight in the hospital. Root was so angry all the time now and Sameen didn't know how to handle it. At dinner, the boys and Mrs. Reese talked, but Root just moved her food around and always left the table as fast as she could. She was driving Ruthie to school in the mornings, so Sameen didn't have any time to talk to her.

Pushing open the front door, Sameen looked around the hallway for Root. It had been a tough first week. Root was still adjusting to the hearing loss and she got overwhelmed a lot. Their teachers had all heard about what happened, of course, and put her on the right side of the classroom, so all the noise came from her left. It was painful for her and Root would have to leave class sometimes to get some quiet.

Sameen heard yelling around the corner and ran towards it. She turned the corner to see Martine and Root standing at the lockers. Root's hands were fisted in Martine's shirt and Root pushed her into the lockers with a loud bang. Sameen saw John hovering nearby and went to him.

"What happened?" she asked, tense.

John shrugged. "I'm not sure. I think Martine tried to tease her or something."

"Martine snuck up behind her," Lionel said, his eyes wide. "Root just started screaming. Is this what high school is always like?"

Sameen rolled her eyes. Lionel was a freshman this year and she'd put him under John's protection. She couldn't take care of him and Root.

"Listen here, bitch," Root growled into Martine's face, "if you ever, ever, do that again, I will ruin your life."

Sameen stepped forward and put a hand on Root's shoulder, startling her. Root's head whipped around to glare at her.

"Come on, Root," Sameen said, gently trying to pull Root away, "she's not worth it. Let's go or we'll be late for AP Chem."

Root turned back to Martine and shoved her into the lockers again before letting go. Martine slid to the ground, hands on her head. Root shoved passed Sameen, knocking into her shoulder and heading to class. Sameen just watched her go and sighed.

Reaching down a hand, Sameen helped Martine to her feet. She tucked her thumbs into her backpack straps.

"I'd leave her alone for a while, Martine. Maybe even forever."

Martine rubbed her head. "I wasn't even being mean. I just asked if she was ok. I'm not that much of a bitch."

"Questionable," Sameen rolled her eyes. "Just stay away."

She turned back to John and Lionel. Sameen felt helpless, like she was way out of her depth. Root had never been like this before and Sameen wasn't sure what to do. Part of her wanted to shake some sense into her, but she knew that Root was hurting and scared for her future. Sameen sighed.

"Where are the girls?" she asked John. "I could use some help."

John started down the hall and Lionel and Sameen followed. "They're running late. Joss' car broke down."

"Really?" Sameen said sarcastically. "Her car is so old. They should just take Zoe's or let you drive them."

"We are in a rough patch," John said, shaking his head. "I just don't get them. I asked if they were actually gay or just doing stuff for me and they just…stopped talking to me?"

"It's been a difficult summer," Lionel added. "I started sleeping in your room. Too much yelling in mine."

"Gross," Sameen said, stopping in front of her classroom, "Well, I'll talk to them about Root and try to throw in a good word for you."

"I'd appreciate it," John smiled. "Good luck."

Lionel patted Sameen's shoulder. "You're gonna need it."

Sameen took a deep breath and walked into the classroom, smiling at Mr. Ingram. Bishop High was so small that Sameen had had the same teachers for most of her classes. This was her third year with Mr. Ingram, Grace, and Harold and her second year with Mr. Collier, the history teacher. She was already dreading the rest of the year in his APUSH class.

Sameen stopped in front of her table. Root had sat in the left seat, so Sameen would sit on her right. Sameen rolled her eyes. If Root was going to be passive-aggressive, fine. Root was still hurting and Sameen knew that she still blamed her for her mother getting arrested. She walked around the table and sat down, dropping her bag on the table. There were still a few minutes until class started.

Mr. Ingram came over to their table and smiled. "Miss Groves, we missed you at the first Science Bowl meeting. Are you still interested in being on the team?"

"No," Root said, leaning forward on her elbows. "I'm not."

Mr. Ingram's smiled flagged. "Really? You're eligible to be on the team now. It would look great on your college applications."

"I said no," Root snapped. "I know it would be a hassle to accommodate me now and I refuse to be a burden."

"Well," Mr. Ingram crossed his arms, "there would need to be some adjustments, of course, but it wouldn't be a burden. We'd do it for anyone."

Root reached up to touch her ear. "Can I step outside? My head hurts."

Mr. Ingram nodded and stepped out of her way. Sameen watched Root stomp out of the room. She didn't know if she should be concerned or not. She knew that Root was in pain and she was having trouble, but sometimes it seemed like Root was using it as an excuse. Sameen couldn't tell though. She'd only lost her hearing a couple weeks ago and everything was so new.

"I hear she hasn't been adjusting well," Mr. Ingram said, sitting on Root's vacant stool. "Mr. Finch told me that she hasn't reached out about BACKS yet."

Sameen shook her head and ran a hand over her ponytail. "She's having a hard time adjusting. I think if it had just been her mom or just her hearing, it wouldn't be so bad, but…" Sameen shrugged. "I don't know. I'm not really equipped for this."

"I'm sure you're doing your best," Mr. Ingram patted her knee. "All you can do is be there for her."

"Yeah," Sameen sighed.

The bell rang and Mr. Ingram stood up. Root walked back into the classroom, looking calmer. As she got closer, Sameen could see her ears were red. Root glared at her as she walked back to the table. As Root sat down, Sameen opened her mouth to talk, but Root cut her off.

"Don't bother," she said, her voice raspy, "I can't fucking hear you anyway."

Root stared at the front of the classroom, leaving Sameen looking at her ear. Sameen's stomach clenched and she turned away.

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Sameen stared up at the treehouse, her hand on the ladder. She wasn't sure if trying to talk to Root was a good idea, but she couldn't do nothing. Root had been ignoring her for weeks now and it was killing her. Sameen nodded to herself and climbed up the ladder.

For the past few weeks, Root had taken to making comments about Sameen's emotional deficit. Every time Sameen tried to talk to her, it was 'what's the point?' or 'you wouldn't understand.' Sameen was determined to be there for Root, though. This was her fault and she was going to fix it.

Sameen walked down the balcony to the front door and tried the handle. It was locked. She knocked on the door. There was a moment of silence before she heard footsteps. The lock clicked and Root opened the door, wearing her favorite dog shirt.

"What do you want?" Root asked, her face blotchy from crying. "I'm not interested."

"Root," Sameen shoved her hands in her pockets, "please? Talk to me."

Root stared at her, her face blank. Finally, she nodded and stepped back, letting Sameen into the treehouse. It was a mess. The twin bed they'd moved in was shoved against the wall, unmade. Clothing was strewn everywhere and all of Root's stuff was on the floor. That wasn't what caught Sameen's eye, though.

"Your radio," Sameen breathed. She walked across the room to kneel on the floor in front of the pieces. "What happened?"

Root's voice was flat and emotionless. "I can't listen to it anymore. It's not the same."

Sameen turned to look up at Root. "But you worked so hard on this. Why did you destroy it?"

"If I can't listen, then what's the point?" Root looked away as tears started running down her face again. She angrily wiped them away. "Everything is so loud and so wrong and I can't stop fucking crying."

Sameen rose to her feet and crossed the room. She pulled Root's hands away from her face, trying to look into her eyes. Root kept her face turned away, leaving Sameen on her deaf side. Sameen reached out to pull Root's face to her.

"Hey," she said softly, "it hasn't been that long. It'll get better, I know it will."

Root stared at her, her mouth open. "That's what you've got? 'It'll get better'? Wow, why didn't I think of that?"

Root pulled away from Sameen and stormed across the room, hopping up the stairs to the second level. Sameen stared after her, not sure if she should follow. She closed her eyes.

Sameen wanted to comfort Root. She wanted to know if they were still girlfriends, if Root would ever forgive her, if things would ever be normal again. She tried to think of something comforting to say that would make Root forgive her. Maybe that was the problem. She should focus on making Root feel better and not on making Root forgive her. Was that right?

"You know," Root said, startling Sameen, "when you're trying to comfort someone, it's better to be where they are."

"Oh," Sameen took a step forward, "sorry. I wasn't sure…"

Root frowned at her from the top of the steps, her hand resting on the doorway. Sameen could help, but look her over. Her legs were bare and Sameen could see that Root's knees were scrapped, like she'd fallen on something hard. The red was fading from Root's face.

"I just," Root sighed and ran a hand through her hair, "I can't figure out how I feel about you right now."

Sameen swallowed. She wanted to say something, but Root's glare made her voice stick in her throat.

"I'm mad at you for taking my mom away. I'm disappointed in myself for thinking that I'd finally found someone who wouldn't let me down."

Sameen stepped forward again. "Root-"

"No," she held her hand up, "I'm talking." She waited until Sameen nodded before continuing. "Everybody close to me, my dad, Hanna, my mom, has left me. Not you, though. You're standing right in front of me, but I can barely stand you."

Root shook her head and winced. "I wish I could make you feel what I feel. Make you understand what it feels like to lose everything."

Sameen frowned. "I've lost things. You're not the only orphan, you know."

"But I'm the only orphan that seems to care."

"That's not fair," Sameen breathed. Her stomached clenched painfully and she crossed her arms. "I try my best, you know that. I do miss my parents."

"But do you love them, Sameen?"

Sameen tried to answer, but hesitated. She wanted to say yes. Of course she loved her parents. She couldn't say anything, though. She wasn't sure if that was true. If she didn't love her parents, how was she so sure she loved Root? How could she be sure any of this was permanent? She looked up at Root, feeling like she was going to throw up.

"Yeah," Root sighed, "that's what I thought."

Root thumped down the stairs and crossed the room, kicking the pieces of her radio aside. She threw herself onto her bed. Sameen crossed her arms.

"I'm sorry I'm not as…emotionally aware as you are. We can't all be a city that doesn't sleep."

Root sat up, angrily throwing blankets over her legs. "Don't talk to me like that. Don't bring up things from our trip. We're not friends right now."

"Look," Sameen growled, "I'm sorry that your mom is gone, but you can't throw my issues in my face." She threw her hands up in the air. "I'm trying to talk to you about all this."

"Well, you're not doing a very good job," Root spat. "I'm telling you what I need and it's for you to go away."

Sameen huffed, but she didn't move. "How long are you going to be mad at me? What do I have to do to make up for it?"

Root stopped fussing with the blankets and looked up at her. "'How long…' Wow. You really don't get it, do you?"

"No!" Sameen shouted, her hands clenching into fists. "I don't! I don't get it! That's why you have to talk to me. You have to tell me what to do."

Root shook her head, her body slumping. "I can't take care of you right now, Sameen. I can't be your emotions for you. I'm just…tired and my head hurts so much all the time."

"I don't want you to be my emotions," Sameen said. "I'm just trying to help."

"I don't want your help. I'm not going to say it again, Sameen. Go away."

Sameen looked at her for another minute and then turned on her heels and left. She slammed the door behind her and ran down the balcony.

Not bothering with the rope ladder, she just jumped down to the ground, her ankle twisting painfully. Sameen ignored it, running to the screened porch and bursting into the house. She hurried upstairs and locked herself in her room.

Sameen slid down her door to the floor, sucking in loud breaths. She was so angry at Root, but she still wanted to help. She wanted Root to be ok again, for them to be ok again. She squeezed her eyes shut, overwhelmed. Sameen banged her head back on her door. She hated this.

Sameen opened her eyes and crawled forward to the center of the room. She stretched out into a plank and started doing push-ups. One. Two. Three. Sameen took deep breaths, concentrating on her body. She settled into the rhythm of the exercise, her heart rate slowing.

Slowly, the turmoil inside of her faded and she let herself feel numb. Fifteen. Sixteen. Seventeen. She was not going to think about Root. She didn't have feelings and she wasn't going to let herself go wild. Sameen started sweating and, when a tear dripped to the floor, she blamed it on the Texas heat.